A Japanese sword depicted with one powerful stroke of brush. Painted with ink on paper. Zen is a state to become enlightened by one's own efforts through facing oneself. Since Kamakura period samurai had spent days of fighting over one another, or sometimes even between family members. For those in search of undaunted heart in the face of death, Zen Buddhism was widely accepted...

A Zen ink wash painting features stormy petals in a raging sea. Painted on paper with ink. The painting is dated on Meiwa 4, which is in 1767, Edo period. Signed Hakuin and sealed. It is painted in the style of Zen Buddhist monk, Hakuin Ekaku. Hakuin Ekaku (1686-1768) was the most influential and popular Zen master in Japanese Zen Buddhism. He revived the Rinzai sect and traveled around the country to teach people the wisdom of Zen...

A painting of a skeleton depicted with sutras. Painted with ink on paper. This type of Buddhist painting has begun painted to accumulate virtue by writing sutras. The painting is in reasonable condition due to age with some light marks and stains are present. There are some marks and fading on the mounting...

The painting features a courtesan mounted on a white elephant. She is an incarnation of Fugen Bosatsu, the Bodhisattva of Compassion. The story of the subject comes from a Japanese Buddhist folklore: On the way to Tennoji temple, a Buddhist monk stopped a village called Eguchi, which was well known as one of the most flourished entertainment area. As he was caught by a sudden rain, he asked a courtesan for a night's lodging in the village. However she refused his request...

After 6 years asceticism, Gautama Buddha decided to come out from the snowy mountains to seek after his own way to get enlightenment. He realized that a long practice of asceticism was not the way to satori (enlightenment). Sealed Sesshū. Sesshū Tōyō (1420-1506) was the most prominent Japanese master of ink wash painting during Muromachi – Sengoku period (the Warring States period) in Japan...

Fudo Myo-o appears from a cloud. Clouds are also depicted as an embodiment of the energy or vital force of the cosmos. Fudō Myō-ō is the central deity in all Myō-ō deities, who are Five Wisdom kings of Womb Realm. Fudo literary means immovable and is the destroyer of delusion and a principal protector of Buddhism. His immovability refers to that aspect of mind (Buddha-Nature or True self), which is forever unmoved - perfectly stable and unchanging...

Jurojin, the God of longevity. On the scroll that he holds is written the lifespan of all living things. Painted with ink on paper. Signed and sealed. The piece is attributed to Suzuki Rinsho (1732-1803). The artwork is in reasonable condition with some marks present due to age. The work has been restored sometime in the past. There are some marks, stains and light damages visible on the mounting...

Unique Zen ink wash painting depicts scroll and bamboo broom representing Kanzan and Jittoku. Kanzan and Jittoku were Zen eccentric monks thought to have lived at a monastery on Mt. Tendai in China during the Tang period (618-907). They had a thorough knowledge of Buddhist philosophy. Kanzan often depicted holding a scroll, presumably of his poetry, while Jittoku holding a broom, indicating his position as a scullion at a monastery. Their unconventional appearances have often been painted by Zen...

Hotei, or Budai in Chinese, very well depicted dozing off or perhaps contemplating on the linen bag, in which he carries precious things. Painted on silk with ink. Sealed. It comes in poulownia wood store box. There are some stains and tiny insect damages are present on the painting, otherwise it is in good condition. The mounting is very good condition with light creases. It wears ivory scroll end.

Painting : 22 5/8" x 18 1/8” (57.3cm × 45.8cm)　
Scroll : 28 3/4" x 56 1/4�...

A solitary crow perches on a pine tree. Painted with ink on paper. Signed Ikkyu and sealed. The painting is attributed to Ikkyu Sojun. Ikkyu Sojun (1394-1481) was one of the most significant and eccentric, iconoclastic Japanese Zen Buddhist monks and poet. One night in 1420, Ikkyu heard the sound of a crow, which sparked a great satori (enlightenment) in Zen Buddhism. His master Kasou confirmed Ikkyu’s enlightenment and tried to give him a certificate of dharma transmission, but Ikkyu refuse...

The painting depicted court musicians playing divine music called Bugaku. Bugaku is a Japanese court music accompanied by dancing. Here one of the players plays shen (a bamboo instrument first produced in China in 7th century) and the other one sounds a massive drum with mitsudomoe crest (three comma-shaped figures in a circle). Bugaku carries a ritualistic implication and is usually played at the start before dance performance begins. Bugaku purifies the stage. Painted with ink and pigments. Si...

Antique Buddhist painting of Monju Bosatsu. Monju symbolizes wisdom and the enlightened mind, and represents as the personification of the Buddha's teachings. The painting is depicted bosatsu sits a top of shishi (lion) executed in comical style with confident ink brush strokes. Painted on paper. Signed Kasho, which is the artist name of Ikeno Taiga, and sealed.

Ike no Taiga (1723-1776) was a Japanese literati painter and calligrapher active during mid Edo period. He studied Chinese Sou...

Japanese hanging scroll, Muromachi period, circa 16th century. This large antique Buddhist painting features Gundari Myōō (Skt. Kundali), one of the five major Wisdom Kings in Buddhism, steps on white lotus pedestals on a high rock, suggesting the 'Great Womb Mandala', the central image of Japanese Esoteric Buddhism. Gundari is a wrathful emanation of Hosho nyorai (Skt. = Ratnasambhava), who is also one of the five great Buddha, and expresses the identity of earthly passions and spirit...

Fudo Myo-o, Acala; the God of Fire depicted bearing a dorje on his right hand and noose on his left hand, seated on a wooden pedestal. His fore teeth are biting his lower lip. It is very unique to see this depiction of Fudo, as most Fudo Myo-o commonly holds a sword, standing or seated on a rock base and his lower teeth biting the upper lip. According to the Besson Zakki, which is a miscellaneous record of classified sacred images originally compiled by the painter-priest Shinkaku(1117-1180) dur...